VALLEJO / Student dies day after football-field accident

Tanya Schevitz, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Monday, November 8, 2004

A standout football player at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo died Sunday at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek after apparently suffering a serious brain injury during a football game Saturday night.

Michael Pennerman, 16, collapsed unconscious on the sidelines at Corbus Field in Vallejo about 9:50 p.m. Saturday after being tackled during the fourth quarter of a game against Rodriguez High School of Fairfield, according to his family and school officials.

The high school junior never regained consciousness and was treated by medical personnel at the scene before being taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Vallejo. He was later transferred to John Muir Medical Center, where he died at about 4 p.m. Sunday, said Tish Busselle, spokeswoman for the Vallejo City Unified School District. The family is donating his organs.

"He was a great kid and athlete, and he passed doing what he loved to do, playing football," said Pennerman's stepfather, Thelonius Wease of Vallejo.

Pennerman moved to Vallejo from Fresno last year and played both football and baseball at the school.

"I understand from his coach that he was a very good student, an outstanding student athlete," Busselle said.

Bethel High School students will be told of Pennerman's death today, and grief counselors will be on hand.

Wease said Pennerman comes from a family of football players and started playing with family members when he was just a toddler, graduating to Pop Warner football and eventually high school football where he was a wide receiver and free safety. Pennerman's cousin is 1994 Heisman Trophy winner and former National Football League running back Rashaan Salaam.

The straight-A student dreamed of playing college and pro football but also aspired to be an engineer, Wease said.

"His loss was a tragedy," he said. "His memory will remain."

The fatal blow to Pennerman came during the fourth quarter, when his team was attempting the extra point after a touchdown. Pennerman was holding the ball for another player to kick.

"There was a bad snap," said Wease, who was not at the game. "He jumped for it and got hit."

Pennerman limped off to the sidelines.

"He walked off the field and told his coach it felt like somebody was pulling him to the ground. And then he fell flat to the ground," Wease said.

Rescue workers treated him on the sidelines for 20 minutes, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald. He was then transported by ambulance to Kaiser.

Because no one realized how serious Pennerman's injury was, Busselle said, the team continued to play and won the game. The score was 40-7, according to the Times Herald.